Method for a paperless office management system using a set table and name-day-message document data

ABSTRACT

A computer operating method using a distribution program from which application programs may be retrieved and executed, includes setting up a database including at least one table of persons&#39; names, a set table and a document table, and executing a database management distribution program for creating, updating, reproducing, moving and deleting at least the documents. A document is created from document data formed by combining at least one name from the name table with at least one data and at least one message while designating an application program, and forming, by an application program, a representation of the information content that may be accessed by an identifier related to an application program, whereafter, once the document data and the information content representation have been formed, the document data and the identifier are combined and recorded.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to transmitting information between aplurality of computer programs run on the same computer or on aplurality of computers connected in a network, and to a computeroperating system facilitating such information transmission. Theinvention also relates to a method implementing such a system and making“paperless” office management possible.

TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND

Since a plurality of different application programs are used on a singlecomputer or on a plurality of different computers, particularly in aclient-server type architecture, it frequently happens that informationneeds to be interchanged between a plurality of computer programs. Forexample, European patent EP-380 211 describes in general terms thecommunication of information between computer programs, and inparticular between application programs run on a single computer or on aplurality of computers. According to that document, the transfer ofinformation between programs comprises using a distributor program whichforms lists containing selected interchange information, informationcodes, and the identity of an application program. When data is to betransferred between a plurality of application programs, a sendingapplication program produces information together with a correspondinginformation code; the information and the code are transmitted to thedistributor program which stores them in a list; and the programcompares the information code with the information codes of its own listto determine whether it matches any of its information codes relating toa plurality of application programs. If the comparison gives a positiveresult, then the distributor program transmits the selected informationto a second application program identified by the information code.

In order to enable such an operation to be performed, it is necessaryfor the selected information interchanged between one applicationprogram and another to be compatible, i.e. the information must becapable of being processed in each of the two application programs. Tothis end, either the information is in a format that is recognized byboth application programs and which can be used by the distributorprogram, or else the information is subjected to format conversionbefore being transmitted to the distributor program and after beingtransmitted therefrom to the destination application program.

Given the problems of interchanging information between programs usingincompatible formats, more and more use is being made of formats thatare compatible with numerous application programs. For example, more andmore file formats, i.e. presentations of information, are being usedwhich are recognized by a large number of application programs. Thus,for interchanging documents, there exists a “portable document format”(PDF) created at the initiative of Adobe, which format is particularlyuseful for composite documents. For files dedicated to storing images indot mode, there also exists a “tagged image file” (TIFF) format which isrecognized by the vast majority of the application programs concerned.

However, the system described in the above-specified document does notenable complete documents to be interchanged, but only information takenfrom documents. In a computer operating system, “files” representdocuments, which documents may be of any type (text, graphics, images,sound). According to a known definition: “A document is a vehicle forintelligible information, rich both in its content and in its form. Itis simultaneously the message, its form, its presentation, and itsvehicle”.

Given the ever-increasing use of such documents in formats that arerecognized by numerous application programs, recognizing the entiredocument is posing fewer and fewer problems. Nevertheless, interchangingdocuments requires knowledge about their medium which is a “computerfile”.

In computer operating systems (which do not perform the role of theabove-mentioned document distributor program), a file is a data setcomprising a file name together with a certain number of attributes, inparticular a creation date, a security descriptor (determining who canuse the file, what can be done with the file, . . . ), and attributesindicating how the file can be used (read only, archived, etc.) duringoperations managed by the operating system and having no bearing oncontent. Naturally, the file header, once its nature has been defined,may contain a certain amount of information concerning the format of thefile, etc. Thus, graphic files include a standardized format headercontaining a certain amount of data defining the properties of the file(encoding rule, etc.).

Thus, whatever the operating system, that which represents the contentsof a document is defined only by a file name which may be relativelyshort [12+3 characters in the “Windows” 3.1 system (registeredtrademark)] or relatively long [up to about 125 characters for the“Windows 95” system (registered trademark)]. Given this relatively largenumber of file name bytes, it would naturally be possible to definewithin this segment of 125 bytes a data structure conveying a certainamount of information. Under such circumstances, merely knowing the filename could give a certain amount of information about the file itself.However, the file name function and the information content functionwould not be separated and, in reality, it would therefore not bepossible to extract information usable by the application programitself, unless each application program were to be specially coded.

Nevertheless, in known operating systems, there exists a structure whichenables information to be classified on the basis of its content. Suchoperating systems comprise a “file managers” which builds aclassification structure. For example, it is commonplace to classifydocuments formed in such-and-such a context with such-and-such anapplication program, etc. by using directories, subdirectories, etc.with access thereto optionally being authorized or refused forsuch-and-such an operator.

The above-mentioned problems of lack of information arise in particularin the field of electronic document management which is now consideredas being an application. In their more elaborate forms, electronicdocument management systems essentially comprise a document base whichmerely comprises the document medium (computer files), a search indexbase which is a type of database management program, and one or moreapplication programs enabling documents to be read, at least, andsometimes enabling new documents to be created. In particular, thedatabase management program is intended to give access to documents as afunction of their content which has been determined using specifiedcriteria, often based on keywords.

In such electronic document management systems, information transfers ofthe type concerned are useful only when creating new documents, giventhat to consult a document, the database management program is usedwhich, as a function of its selection criteria, gives access to thedocument and does not transfer information thereto. However, in anapplication program for electronically managing data, it can beadvantageous to interchange documents with the document base and thesearch index base. A method of transferring information of the typedescribed in above-mentioned document EP-380 211 can then beimplemented, for example.

Consequently, given the present state of the art, and in the context ofan operating system, implementing systems of the type described requiresa plurality of application programs to be implemented, and wheninformation is to be interchanged, it requires a distributor program tobe implemented for interchanging the information. It is thereforenecessary to use together, in the context of an operating system, atleast three programs operating successively or simultaneously: twoapplication programs which interchange information, and a distributorprogram. Naturally, when information transfers are frequent and alwaysof the same type, they can be programmed to be performed directly by oneapplication program to another, without using a distributor program,however such transfers are then extremely rigid since they must havebeen programmed previously and they must form part of the applicationprograms. The information interchange is put into a format that iscompatible with the operating system so that it can act as thedistributor program between the applications. A simple example is theinterchange of information via the “clipboard” which is to be found in alarge number of computer operating systems.

In accordance with the invention, it has been observed that theinformation interchanged between various application programs is usuallyinformation of an extremely small number of types. Consequently, if thedesignation of a document also includes the association of a certainnumber of items of information within this small number of types, then alarge number of information transfers become superfluous.

We consider an example illustrating the above remarks in the context ofthe “Windows” (registered trademark) operating system. Theidentification of a file comprises: a date (creation date), which dateis usually input automatically but which can be modified; a file namewhich must be input by the operator and which is generally an element ofinformation constituting an abbreviation reminiscent of the informationcontent of the document; a location in the file system (directories andsubdirectories) as selected by the user, generally on the basis of thecurrent working location; and optionally other attributes. When the userhas thus input the criteria relating to the file, it is difficult for athird party to know what is contained in a document represented by thecomputer file.

In contrast, if, as in the method of the invention, the file namecorresponds to a summary in a few words of the content of the document,and if at least one name (of a person or of a corporation), in general adestination or a sender, is also associated with the file name and witha date representing the date of arrival or departure of the document,and given the location of the file (directory, subdirectory), a thirdparty can rapidly discover the bare essentials about the document, andthis relatively superficial knowledge can either make it unnecessary toconsult documents that are manifestly irrelevant, or else, on thecontrary, can give very fast access to the desired document withoutsearching through a relational database using specified criteria(keywords).

The invention thus relates to such a system, i.e. a system in which datadefining a “document” includes a certain amount of information relatingto the document, said information comprising at least a date, a name,and a message, a particular directory or subdirectory name, and inhidden form a “computer file name” which may merely be a number in alist which does not contain duplicate numbers. Naturally, otherinformation may be useful, for example the fact that the document is onethat has been received or sent in a particular management context, thename of the creator of the document, another date, etc., however anyadditional information may require additional inputting and may be oflimited interest only.

The above-mentioned “name-date-message” data preferably corresponds tothe entries that have been used for many years in the mail registers ofbusinesses; this makes the system understandable to all staff of aservice, a business, or an association, since the staff can adapt easilyto handling documents according to the invention since they areaccessible simply on the basis of said “name-date-message” data.

Consequently, the invention relates to managing information transfersbetween application programs in such a manner that only genuinely usefultransfers are performed. When a document comes in from the outside, itis clearly necessary to input a name, a message, and possibly also adate (the date may automatically be taken to be the present date).Nevertheless, before a document is created or while it is being created,the name and the associated message are defined, preferably with thename of the computer tool (i.e. the application program) which must beor which is being used for creating the document and which thereforereceives this information.

In a system of the invention, the “distributor program” for distributingthe above-mentioned document therefore contains a certain amount ofbasic information which can be transmitted directly without needing tocome from another application program. This information is incorporatedin a database and represents the majority of the information required bythe application programs.

The role of the distributor program is advantageously performed directlyby the operating system implemented on the computer. Under suchcircumstances, it can either be a genuine operating system which callsapplication programs when documents are to be made with such-and-such anapplication program, or else it may be a “multipart” operating system inwhich a “distributor” program which manages document designations inaccordance with the invention calls application programs, sending theminformation and possibly receiving information from them, andclassifying for conservation purposes any information which mayoptionally be transmitted to other application programs. In which case,the structure is one in which the distributor program forms an “outerlayer” over the basic operating system of the computer, in a mannersomewhat analogous to the situation in which the program “Windows” 3.1(registered trademark) constitutes an “outer layer” over the “MS-DOS”(registered trademark) operating system.

Thus, according to the invention and because of the distributor program,the “file manager” of known operating systems is replaced by a genuine“database manager” of a particular type which associates data from itsdatabase with each document.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

More precisely, the invention provides a method of operating a computer,the method being of the type implementing a distributor programconstituting a manager of computer entities classified in sets and fromwhich application programs can be called and run; according to theinvention, the method comprises:

creating, in a computer mass memory, a database comprising at least aperson name table, a set table, and a table of documents each of whichbelongs to at least one set; and

running, on the computer, a distributor program for managing saiddatabase and organized at least to create, to update, to retrieve, tomove, and to delete documents, said step of running the database managerprogram on a computer comprising, for creating a document:

the database manager distributor program forming document data byassociating at least one name from the name table with at least one dateand at least one message, with an application program being designated;

the application program forms a representation of an information contentaccessible by an identifier associated with an application program; and

once the document data has been formed and once a representation of theinformation content has been formed, and only if the application programdesignated with the document data and the application program associatedwith the representation are identical or compatible, the manager programassociates document data and the identifier of said representation andthe distributor program stores document data and the identifier in atleast the document table.

Preferably, the database has a table of subsets each belonging to atleast one set. It is then convenient for each set to have a normallyempty transfer subset, which subset temporarily contains documentsprovided for other subsets of the set concerned. Passing in this way viaa transfer subset can either be compulsory prior to passing to anothersubset, or else can be used solely when the destination subset has notyet been identified. Similarly, the database may contain a normallyempty transfer set, which temporarily contains documents provided forother sets when the destination set has not yet been identified.

When the database is located on another computer, the distributorprogram of the first computer interchanges data with the other computerthat has the database.

In one embodiment, advantageously implemented on a plurality ofcomputers in a network, the database has a plurality of databases ofcompatible structures which are logically associated to constitute asingle database accessed by the distributor program of each computerrunning the method.

It is advantageous for the database also to include a table ofcapacities in which a record has at least a reference to a person name,a reference to a set name, and a capacity specifying the role played bysaid person in said set.

Thus, in a preferred embodiment, the operations of moving, copying, anddeleting documents are performed by the distributor program, withapplication programs serving only to modify the information content ofdocuments.

In an embodiment, the distributor program is run directly by theoperating system implemented on the computer.

The database preferably contains diary information contained in thedocument table or in a special diary table, and the method furtherincludes associating diary data with the document data.

The invention also provides a method of filling in forms, which methodis capable of constituting an application program for implementing theabove-specified operating method in the context of paperless officemanagement; this method of filling in forms is of the type in which ablank form has fields to be filled in, at least in part, which fieldsare distributed over the surface of one or more pages, and it comprisesthe following steps: in a first stage: forming an image of the blankform by optical scanning; and storing the resulting image; and in asecond. stage: displaying the image of the form; and at least a group ofoperations comprising: positioning a cursor on the image at the locationof a field; creating a field at the location of the cursor; andinputting data in the field; then printing the data input by said atleast one group of operations onto a paper copy of the blank form, whilenot printing the image of the blank form. Preferably, the representationof the information content of the document corresponding to the form isone image comprising both the image of the blank form and the input datain the form of a single image.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The single drawing FIGURE illustrates the inventive method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention is particularly suitable for an information managementsystem in which representations of information contents are managed inthe form of “elements”, each comprising firstly a representation of aninformation content associated with an identifier, and secondly elementdata comprising at least a name, a date, and a message givinginformation about the information content. Such a management system maybe used without any special medium, i.e. without using any paper(“paperless”). Documents received on paper are read optically andconverted into the form of graphic images, and documents issued on paperare merely a copy on paper of a document existing in the informationmanagement system. The paper is used only for interchanges with theoutside when the partner in an interchange sends or needs to receiverepresentations on paper.

The database preferably also includes a table of capacities in which arecord includes at least a reference to a person name, a reference to aset name, and a capacity specifying the role played by said person insaid set. For example, if the set (dossier) corresponds to a commercialtransaction, the capacity associated with a name in the set may be“supplier”, “payer”, etc. Naturally, the same name may be associatedwith a plurality of capacities (for example principal and payer). Inanother set, the same name may be associated with other capacities. Acapacity is preferably associated with a name by using a pointing toolto select from a list of capacities displayed on a screen.

Thus, in accordance with the invention, the method of operating acomputer is a method of the type which implements a distributor programconstituting a manager of computer entities classified in sets (e.g.dossiers) and subsets (e.g. folders), and from which applicationprograms (e.g. a word processor program, a drawing program, a spreadsheet, a fax-sending program, a form-filling program, etc.) can becalled and executed.

This method creates a database in a computer mass memory, the databasecomprising at least a table of person names, a table of sets (e.g.dossiers), preferably a table of subsets (e.g. folders) each belongingto at least one set, See S100 of the figure and a table of documentseach belonging to at least one subset. The mass memory belongs to thecomputer concerned when it is isolated, or to one such computer or toone or more other computers when the computer concerned is in a network.

Execution on the computer of the distributor program for managing saiddatabase makes it possible at least to create, update, retrieve, move,and delete documents. This operation of executing the database managerprogram on a computer preferably comprises three steps for creating adocument.

The first step S200 comprises the database manager distributor programforming document data by associating at least one name from the nametable with at least one date and at least one message, optionally alsowith the designation of an application program. This step is preferablyexecuted by inputting each item of data, where inputting can beperformed either by keying information directly into a keyboard,preferably into a field displayed on the display screen of the computer,or by making a selection by using a pointing tool (such as a mouse) topoint in a displayed list, or else it is executed automatically.

The second step, which is preferably but not necessarily subsequent tothe first, comprises an application program (the program optionallydesignated in the first step) forming a representation of an informationcontent (document content, e.g. in the form of text, an image, etc.),said information content being accessible by an identifier associatedwith an application program (which is not necessarily the applicationprogram used for creating the content, given that some formats arecompatible with a plurality of application programs, as mentioned at thebeginning of the present specification). This step thus comprisesdisplaying an application program window and creating the specificinformation content with conventional information accessories (keyboard,mouse, etc.), either from an empty content or from a content that hasalready been created in part or in full using document data. Forexample, if the content is to be text, the window open in theapplication program may already contain an address corresponding to theperson name of the document data, a header containing the dossier or setdata, and optionally a document body such as a standard letter, etc.

A third step, subsequent to the two preceding steps, i.e. executed afterthe document data has been formed and after an information contentrepresentation has been created, comprises the manager distributorprogram associating the document data and the identifier of saidrepresentation, and recording at least the document data together withthe identifier in the document table. See S300 This step is preferablyperformed automatically by the computer once a command has indicatedthat the creation of the information content has terminated.

In order to enable the method of the invention to be used for paperlessoffice management, in an organization such as a service, a business, oran association, it is appropriate for the application programs which canbe called by the distributor program to be suitable for creating all ofthe documents that are created by said service, said business, or saidassociation. Nevertheless, there does not exist any tool making itpossible to create filled-in forms independently of the form. Thereexist parameterized programs for filling in such-and-such a type ofform, but not any type of form. Each time a new type of form needs to befilled in, the parameters defining the form need to be rogrammed. Inpractice, there is no program in existence capable of filling in anyform, and as a result certain forms must be created outside the databasesystem, thereby running the risk of being forgotten and not beingincorporated in the system. Such a risk is unacceptable in managing apaperless system.

That is why the invention also concerns a method of filling in forms,which method may constitute an application program for implementing theabove operating method in the context of a paperless office, but mayalso be independent of the operating method. This method of filling informs is of the type in which a blank form has fields, at least some ofwhich must be filled in, which fields are distributed over the surfaceof one or more pages. In a first stage, an image of the blank form ismade by optical scanning and it is stored in the form of an image. In asecond stage, the image of the form is displayed, and for at least onefield to be filled in, a cursor is placed, using a pointing tool, on theimage at the location of the form to be filled in, and an input field iscreated at the location of the cursor. Data can then be input into saidinput field, e.g. using the keyboard, or by inserting data from thedatabase. When all of the desired input fields have been created andfilled in, the data input into said fields is printed on a blank form onpaper, omitting the image of the blank form itself. Preferably, thedocument which is stored as a document in the database has itsinformation content constituted by a single image comprising the imageboth of the blank form and of the data that has been input. In avariant, the data input in at least one field is graphic data, e.g. adrawing.

When the form is a single-copy form, then printing is preferablyperformed using a non-impact printer. When the form is a multipart form,then printing preferably requires the use of a dot matrix impactprinter. When the method is implemented on computers connected to anetwork, the printer or printers are preferably printers that areaccessible via the network.

Naturally, in forms, the fields that are to be filled in can bereferenced relative to data in the database. Thus, data can be insertedinto fields directly from the database. Conversely, data input into thefields can be transmitted to the database. These procedures are known tothe person skilled in the art and it is therefore not necessary todescribe them in greater detail.

The database preferably also manages diary information contained in thedocument table or in at least a special diary table. The distributorprogram requests and/or proposes associating the created document with adiary entry (date, message, person responsible, etc.).

This method is described above for creating a single document, howeverit can also be used for creating a plurality of documents that aregrouped together in one or more “envelopes”. Documents in an envelopeshare a certain amount of envelope data which is advantageouslycontained in an “envelope table” of the database.

When the method is implemented on a single computer, the database isplaced in the mass memory of the computer and the distributor programcan have direct access to the database. However, when the database islocated on another computer, the distributor program of the firstcomputer interchanges data with the other computer containing thedatabase. Thus, when a plurality of computers are connected in a networkand the computer concerned does not contain the database, thedistributor program running on a first computer is not genuinely thedatabase manager, but an intermediate program which works inco-operation with a distributor program run on the other computer whichworks with its database, e.g. a request manager (“SQL”). Thisdisposition can also be used on an isolated computer. It is included inthe term “database manager distributor program” as used in the claims.

When the method is implemented on one or more computers connected in anetwork, the database may comprise a plurality of databases havingcompatible structures that are logically associated in a single databaseaccessed by the distributor program of each computer running the method.Such logical association is already known and used by data-base managerprograms.

The operations of creating, moving, copying, and deleting documents arepreferably performed solely by the distributor program. Applicationprograms can be used only for modifying the information contents ofdocuments.

In an advantageous implementation, the distributor program is rundirectly by the operating system implemented on the computer. It is thennecessary for the computer to receive either automatically on startingor shortly thereafter, or else subsequently by operator input, theidentity of the database program with which the distributor programworks.

The invention thus relates to a method of operating a computer whichsatisfies all of the conditions required for paperless officemanagement. These conditions are essentially as follows:

it is necessary for all documents to be created entirely within thesystem, since subsequent incorporation can be forgotten and consequentlyit is necessary to have application programs enabling all of thedocuments that need to be created to be created effectively, even formsof arbitrary format, color, and disposition;

it is necessary for documents to be created in a context which isassociated with data from the database, said data being essentially namewith at least one capacity, date, and message data; and

it is necessary for the system to be useable by all staff of a service,a business, or an association, and for it to be easy for the staff toadapt to handling electronic documents; in accordance with theinvention, documents are accessible in the form of “name-date-message”data corresponding to entries that have been used for many years in themail record books of businesses, and the sets (dossiers) and subsets(folders) may appear on the screen in a manner that is reminiscent ofdossiers, folders, filing cabinets, etc. familiar to all of the staffand between which the movement of documents is intuitive.

The architecture of the system on which the invention is implemented hasnot been described since numerous architectures are suitable. Althoughit can be implemented on a single station, the invention is particularlyadvantageous with a plurality of stations. Although the database maymerely be of the shared type, it is advantageously of the client-servertype, i.e. a database server performs a portion of the processing (e.g.preparing “sets”) and the stations perform another portion. In thiscontext, some of the stations may be remote, e.g. having access to thedatabase server via a public or private communications network(telephone network, Internet). Nevertheless, it is also advantageous forthe method to be implemented in business networks using resources thatare available by accessing such a public or private communicationsnetwork, with appropriate security and protection procedures(“Internet”). According to the invention, two complementary modes can beused: distributor program access to the database server via thecommunications network; and access to resources connected to suchnetwork by the application programs which create documents.

The invention thus presents numerous advantages. The main advantages arean increase in work rate which is obtained by fast access to desireddocuments (the paperless aspect), and to eliminating most exchanges ofdata between application programs (computer processing aspect), and thesecurity of processing that is obtained by single and centralizedmanagement of all files, and in particular of all diary entries(database consistency).

Naturally, the invention is described and shown only by way of preferredexample and any technical equivalents for its component elements couldbe used without thereby leaving the ambit of the invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

the method of the invention is useful for transmitting and interchanginginformation and documents between computer programs and thus betweenpeople using such computer programs.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of operating one or several computers,to be used in a “paperless” organization office management system, themethod being of the type implementing a distributor program constitutinga manager of computer entities classified in sets and from whichapplication programs can be called and run; the method comprising thesteps of: creating, in a computer mass memory of at least one computer,a database comprising at least a person name table, a set table, and atable of documents each of which belongs to at least one set; andrunning, on at least a computer, a distributor program for managing thedatabase and organized at least to create, to update, to retrieve, tomove, and to delete documents, each document being formed byassociating, by the manager program, of document data which are formedby associating at least one name from the name table, at least one dateand at least one message, with an identifier of a representation of theinformation content of the document, and storing by the distributorprogram of the document data and the identifier in at least the documenttable; creating documents within the system; providing access to thesystem to all of the staff of the organization, document datacorresponding to entries typically used in businesses, and documentsbeing presented in sets corresponding to dossiers familiar to all of thestaff and between which the movement of documents is intuitive;providing fast access to desired documents; and creating all documentsentirely by the organization staff with application programs which canbe called by the distributor program.
 2. A method according to claim 1,wherein, the database also includes a subset table, each subsetbelonging to at least one set, and documents are presented in sets andsubsets corresponding respectively to dossiers and folders familiar toall of the staff.
 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein, each sethas a normally empty transfer subset, which subset temporarily containsdocuments provided for other subsets of the set concerned.
 4. A methodaccording to claim 1, wherein, the database contains a normally emptytransfer set, which temporarily contains documents provided for othersets when the destination set has not yet been identified.
 5. A methodaccording to claim 1, implemented on one of a plurality of computersconnected in a net, wherein, the database has a plurality of databasesof compatible structures that are logically associated in a singledatabase accessed by the distributor program.
 6. A method according toclaim 1, wherein, the step of creating a database in a computer massmemory further comprises creating a table of capacities in which arecord includes at least a reference to a person name, a reference to aset name, and a capacity specifying the role played by the person in theset.
 7. A method according to claim 1, wherein, the operations ofmoving, copying, and deleting documents are performed by the distributorprogram, the application programs serving only to modify the informationcontents of documents.
 8. A method according to claim 1, wherein, thedistributor program is run directly by the operating system implementedon the computer.
 9. A method according to claim 1, in which the databasecontains diary information contained in the document table or in aspecial diary table, the method further comprising the step ofassociating diary data with document data.
 10. A method according toclaim 1, implemented in a business network using resources that areavailable by accessing a communications network, with appropriatesecurity and protection procedures.
 11. A method according to claim 1,wherein, documents received on paper are integrated into the system byoptically reading graphic images of information content, and eachdocument issued on paper is merely a copy on paper of the informationcontent of a document existing in the system.
 12. A method according toclaim 7, wherein, an application program is a program for implementing amethod of filling in forms, of the type in which a blank form has fieldsto be filled in, at least in part, which fields are distributed over thesurface of one or more pages, by the steps of: displaying image of theform; and at least one group of operations comprising: positioning, onthe form image, a cursor in relation to the image of a field to befilled in and creating an input field at the location of the cursor,such that the input field corresponds to the location of the field to befilled in; and inputting data in the input field; then printing, on apaper copy of the blank form, the data input by the at least one groupof operations, so that input data are printed at the location of thefield to be filled in, and while not printing the image of the blankform.
 13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the method furthercomprises, in a first stage: forming an image of the blank form byoptical scanning; and storing the resulting image.
 14. A methodaccording to claim 12, further comprising the step of storing a singleimage comprising the image both of the blank form and of the data thathas been input, as a single image.
 15. A method according to claim 12,wherein, data are input in an input field by direct insertion of datafrom a database.
 16. A method according to claim 12, wherein, data inputinto an input field are transmitted to a database.
 17. A methodaccording to claim 12, wherein, when all of the desired input fieldshave been created and filled in, the data input into the fields isprinted on a blank form on paper, omitting the image of the blank formitself.
 18. A method according to claim 12, wherein, when the form is amultipart form, printing is performed using a dot matrix impact printer.19. A method according to claim 12, wherein, when the form is asingle-copy form, printing is performed using a non-impact printer. 20.A method of operating a computerized paperless office management system,the method implementing a distributor program managing computer entitiesclassified in sets and from which application programs can be called andrun, the method comprising the steps of: creating a computer databasecomprising a person name table, a set table, and a table of documentseach of which documents belongs to at least one set; running adistributor program for managing the database and organized at least tocreate, to update, to retrieve, to move, and to delete documents, thedistributor program forming each document by a) associating documentdata of i) at least one name from the name table, at least one date andat least one message, with ii) an identifier of a representation of theinformation content of the document, and b) storing the document dataand the identifier in at least the document table; the applicationprograms serving only to modify the information contents of documents;one of the application program being a program for implementing a methodof filling in forms by the steps of displaying an image of the form; andat least one group of operations comprising  positioning, on the formimage, a cursor in relation to the image of a field to be filled in andcreating an input field at the location of the cursor, such that theinput field corresponds to the location of the field to be filled in;and  inputting data in the input field;  then printing, on a paper copyof the blank form, the data input by the at least one group ofoperations, so that input data are printed at the location of the fieldto be filled in, while not printing the image of the blank form.
 21. Amethod of operating one or more computers to implement a paperlessorganization office management system with a distributor programmanaging computer entities classified in sets, the method comprising thesteps of: creating a computer database comprising at least a person nametable, a set table, and a table of documents each of which documentsbelongs to at least one set; and running a distributor program formanaging the database and organized at least to create, to update, toretrieve, to move, and to delete documents, using the distributorprogram to form document data by associating at least one name from thename table, at least one date, and at least one message to a specificdocument; using the distributor program to associate the document datawith an identifier representing a document information content of thespecific document; storing by the distributor program of the documentdata and the associated identifier in at least the document table; andcreating all documents entirely by the organization staff withapplication programs called by the distributor program.
 22. The methodof claim 21, wherein the message is a summary of a document content. 23.The method of claim 21, wherein the one name from the name table is anaddressee of the specific document, the date is a reception date of thespecific document, and the message relates to a content of the specificdocument.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the identifier is a pathname of an electronic file representing an image of the specificdocument.
 25. The method of claim 21, wherein the set table organizesdocuments in related sets.
 26. The method of claim 21, wherein thesummary comprises a plural-word extract of a content of the document.